By Dylan Pablo Eluardo
Honestly, it’s getting really hard to ignore how many people are sleeping on the streets in Cebu City these days. Just walking down Colon or around the Fuente Circle, you see entire families set up on cardboard mats under the awnings. It’s heartbreaking because a lot of them have little kids with them. You used to just see a few familiar faces here and there, but now it feels like every flyover and sidewalk has become someone’s makeshift home.
You can’t help but wonder what’s driving it all. Life in the city has gotten so expensive lately—rent is up, jeepney fares are higher, and the price of basic groceries is just ridiculous. If you’re working a minimum wage job or relying on informal gigs like selling trinkets or driving a trisikad, one bad week or a medical emergency can completely wipe you out. It feels like a lot of people just got pushed over the edge by the cost of living and simply had nowhere else to go.
It’s a complicated situation because you want the city to look nice and feel safe, but at the same time, these are actual human beings who need help, not just an “eyesore” to be swept away. Standard relocation programs don’t always seem to stick, probably because the jobs are still here in the urban center. I really hope the local government and community groups can figure out a more permanent, compassionate solution, because just watching the numbers grow month after month is pretty disheartening.
